Latch



Julyl, 1930.. MALL 1,769,341

LATCH Filed July 18, 1 928 Patented July 1, 1930v i ANDREW J. HALL, QF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Application led .T uly r18,

This invention relates to latches, and more particularly to a latch'and associated 'means l for securing doors, particularly doors of refrigerators and like structures. 'j

Latches of the typewhich are commonly used for refrigeratordoors are open to the objection of being rather complicated and of expensive construction and usually occupy considerablespace. Une; of the main objects of my invention is rto provide a latch` and assooiatedmeans forfs'ecuring a door closed, the latch beingr of simple andY inexpensive but highly efficient construction. A further object'y is toy provide securingk means in which the door is urged into tight-v ly closed position by a camming action and is held tightly closed vunder pressure.

VA further object is to provide a latch an associated securing member cooperatingl therewith so constructed that the latch mem- 4 ber and the securing member may be readily formed each 'from a singlevpiece of material and at small cost. Another object is to pro-l vide a latch member so constructed andy arrangedl as toexert a camming action on the cooperating' securing member carried by the door for closing the door, thisv latch memfi ber also exerting a camming action fas; Iit Visvv .moved into inoperative orfrel'easing. position for opening the door. A further object is to provide a latch member having elefments thereof so disposed that, When. such member is in lowered or securing position, it will be raised by Contact therewith of the securing member carried by the door, as theV door is moved into closed position, so as to permit Ventryy of the lsecuringmember .into the receiving slot of the latch member. Further objects and advantages `will appear from the detailed description.

In the drawings:

Fic. 1 is a front viewV of a latch and asso-y ciated securing member constructed 'in ack cordance with'my invention las applied to a door of a refrigerator or similar structure;

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially ony line 2-2 of Fig; 1; -Fig. 3 is a section line 3 3 ofl Fig. 2.l

l have illustrated my invention as applied taken substantially on and' vangles toprovide a securing flange 14. -`These 192s. serai Nojafaacsz.

to adoor lof va structureQ suchas a refrigf erator, this door being hinged to thel refrig-` erator at 3. yDoor 1 is of knownconstruction and is provided with a peripheral flange 4 which r tits into a-suitablerabbet provided in the door frame, theinner face of this ange'contacting with the packing strip 5 secured to'theshoulder of the rabbet. The

body portion of thedoor fits into a rabbet 6` of v,the door frame. This construction of the door and its associated frame is'well known in the art vand need not be illustrated nor described in detail.

A securing member 7 Ais carried by the r.d.oor"1.` This? member is formed from a lsingleV piece of sheet material which is bent and rolled to .fprovide a flat base plate 8, a

neck 9 projecting outwardly from the base vplate substantially 'fat right angles thereto,

and a tubular portion or pin 10- disposed at right angles vto` the neck rand projecting outwardlybeyond the adjacent edge ofthe door,l the material ofthe blank from which ,the member 7 .is yformed being shaped, at the outer end of pin 10,130 provide a roundedV element orl knob 1 1. yThe'neck 9 provides` a resilient connection between pin 10 and plate 8 which is secured to the door by screws 12 or;vv in any `other suitable or preferred manner. This securing member can be readily produced at small'costby a simple rolling and bending process froma blank of suitable shape andftherefore, can vbel produced i atlsmallcost. v Y n A bracket 13 isse'cured to door frame 2a adjacent the edge'of the door opening. This bracket is of elongated 'U shape in planv view and theinner end `portieri of each arm of the bracket is.l bent outwardly at. right flanges receive screws 15 by means of which the bracket is effectively secured toy the door frame. rlhis bracket isprovided with a horizontally `disposed slot 16 extending froml its outer. end and disposed for reception of pin k1() when thedoor vl'jis closed. Prefer# ably, though not necessarily, the bracket is' provided with `inclined surfaces 17 at the lowerv portion of slot 16for vcontact byl the pin 10 so as to elevate this pin andy member is in the form of an angle lever and comprises an upper arm 19 and a lower-arm 20. A finger 21 extends from arm 19 abovev arm 20, this finger extending in the same direction as arm 20 and bein dis oosed substantially parallel therewith, `The finger 21 delines, with arm20, a slot 22 vadapted for reception of the securing pin 10 of memF ber 7. The inner edge of linger 21 is inclined outwarly slightly to provide a surface or edge 23 which contacts with pin 10 and exerts a camming actionv on the outer portion thereof forfforcing the pin toward the door frame 2a as the latch member 18 is swung downwardly in full operative or securing position.

rThis latch member Yis formedfrom a sini gle piece of sheet metal of suitable gaugeand temper and is provided, at the upper `end of arm 19, with a rounded element or knob 24 for convenience in manipulating the latch Y member. This knob isinitially formed in the plane of the arm 19 and is connected to this y arm by a restricted element or neck 25.` This neck is then turned through an arc of 90' degrees so as to dispose the knob 211 at right angles to arm 19, as illustrated. The latch member, produced in this manner, can be readily manufactured at very small cost.A It will thus be seen that the entire securing device, including the securing member 7, the bracket'l and the latch member 18, is of very simple and inexpensive construction and can be manufactured at small cost.

The latch member 18 is pivotally mounted in the bracketl by means of a pivot pin 26 secured through the armsV of the bracket and passing through arm 2O kof latch'member .18. As will be noted more clearly from Fig.y

3, this pin is disposed adjacent the angle of member 18 and is above the lower edge orwall of opening or slot 16 of the bracket but below the lower wall or edge of slot 22 of latch member 18. It will also be noted that the'outer end of 1inger23 is inclined at 27, this inclination being such that, when the` latch member is in its lowered position,

the outer end of the linger is inclined downwardly and inwardly of slot 16 of bracket 13 land forms, with the lower outer portion V-shaped entrance opening for the pin 10. Upon closing of door 1, in the event thatthe latch member is in its lowered position, Vthe pin 10 strikes -v the inclined edge 27 of linger l21 thus rais- 'slo't 16 of the bracket.V

that Ithe pin passes v22, it is necessary that finger 21 be raised until 'the tip thereof is at the upper edge The angle between the armsV of slot 16. 19 and 20 of the latch member 18 is such that,

.at this time, the upperinner portion of arm 2()l extends across the lower inner portion of Y Continued closing movement of door 1 causes the pin 10 to contact with the inner upper portion of'arm -20 swinging the latch member 18 downwardly about the pivot pin26 and thus causing the nger 21 to engage over the pinr20 securing the door in closed position. If the door is closed quickly, the `pin 10 will contact with arm 2O with` sufficient force to throw the latch member downwardly violently causinglinger 21- to exert a camming action upon pin 10-for Y forcing the door tightly into closed position.V If the .door is closed slowly, the latch member,` may be rocked downwardly by means of knob 24 so as to cause the camming action to be exerted byinger 20 upon pin 10. In either case, the Vpin is forced toward the door frame and the neck 9 isplaced underitension and, due to its inherent resiliency, exerts constant Apressure against the door for holding it tightly closed.

VTo open the door,.upward pressure is exerted on knob 2e' and the latch member 18 is swung upwardly about pin 26. As the latch member is moved into its raised or 'inoperative position, the arm 20 is moved across vthe lower portion ofvslot 16 and contacts with the inner lower portion of pin 10 so as to exert a camming action thereon and open the door. Y

L By swinging thelatch member quickly into, unsecuring or releasing position, the door 1 may bethrown into .full open posi-y tionrby the Yaction of arm 20V upon pin l0. When the latch member is in its full releasing position indicated by ,the dotted lines in Figure 3, the upper edge ofarm 20 is disposedwell above the lower edge or wall of slot 16 and forms, with the upper edge ,or wallof this slot, a substantially V-shaped `opening for entry of the securing pin 10.

With the latch member in pin 10I enters belll) tween the top wall of slot 16 and the upper edge of arm 2O and swings the latch member downwardly about the pin26 into operative or securing position.Y lf the door is swung shut quickly, the pin 10 will strike the edge of arm 2O with sutiicient Jforce to swingV the latch member 18 into full operative or securing position. lUnder such conditions, it is not necessary to exert'down-f ward pressure upon the knob 21.1. for the purpose ofV tightly closing the door. In the eventV that the door is swung closed slowly,

lill) CII the desired camming effect betweenv edge 23A and exerting acam action .on the pin for of finger 21 and the pin l0 is obtained by forcing thedoor into full closed position. l pressing downwardly upon knob 24.

While I have illustrated and described my name this y12th day of' July,

my invention as applied to a refrigerator or similar structure, is is equally well adapt ed for use in any structure where it is de- In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribev 1928. HALL. Y

ANDREW J.

' sired to secure a door or similar member tightly closed. Ido not,-therefore, intend to in any way limit myselfto this one particular use which is set forth merely as illustrative of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. In combination, a hingedly mounted door, ya locking pin projecting from the door at one edgethereof, a fixed bracket having a slot extendingfromits outer end and disposed for reception of the pin in the closing movement of they door, and a latch member pivoted in the bracket vand comprising an upper element and a lower element dening a slot opening. into the bracket slot for receptionY ofthe pin when the latch member is in inoperative position, the pivot of the latch member being below the upper element thereof when said mem.- Y

ber is in inoperative position, said lower member having its upper edge straight and inclined downwardly and outwardly of the bracket slot when the latch is in inoperative position and the upper member exerting a camming action on the pin for forcing the door closed as the latch member is moved into operative position. v 2. In combination, a door, azlocking pin projecting from the door at one edge thereof, a bracket flxedly mount* ed adjacent the door and having avslot for reception of the pin, andr a latch member having a slot for reception of the pin'and n pivoted on the bracket for movement `transversely of the slot thereof, the pivotal connection between said member and the'bracket being above the lower wall of the slot in the bracket and below the lower wall of the slot in the latch'member.

3. In combination, a hingedly mounted door, a locking pin projecting from the door at one edge thereof, a bracket fixedly mounted adjacent the door` and having a slot for reception of the pin, and a latchfmember j havingy upper and lower elements defining a slot for reception ofthe pin, the lower one of said elements being pivotally secured to the bracket above the lower wall of the slot thereof and the outer edge of the upper element being inclined downwardly and inwardly of the bracket slot when said latch member is in securing position.

4. In combination, a hingedly mounted door, a locking pin projecting from the door at one edge thereof, a base plate secured to the door, a resilient neck connecting the pin and said plate, and latch means cooperating with the pin for securing the door closed hingedly mounted e, 

